Across industries, companies face the challenge of software-led transformation software is at the front and centre of all major disruptive innovations today—whether as part of big data, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, connected homes, autonomous cars or drones—giving enterprises the opportunity through new digital capabilities to offer entirely new services, to enhance customer experience, to improve efficiency and to reduce costs, in ways never before imagined.
The Global 100 Software Leaders ranking reveals the vendors who are taking advantage of both the evolutionary and revolutionary changes afoot in technology. While the cloud continues to underpin massive change, other trends are building on its capabilities to create opportunities in digital innovation, industrial capabilities and convergence within vertical markets.
Cloud computing offers opportunity and obstacles. It can increase customer engagement, but it also lowers switching costs, thereby potentially increasing turnover if there is customer dissatisfaction. Software vendors must think about how they will transition all phases of their companies—not just the technical ones—to this new paradigm.
To be successful with cloud offerings, software vendors must retool their operations and remodel their business structures to achieve greater efficiency and adapt to the new realities of lower ASPs and lower margins.
The software industry has become more global than ever thanks to the ability of developers everywhere to establish operations and distribute product anywhere. Today, global software vendors are as likely to compete with companies in Seoul, Shanghai and other emerging markets as with companies in Seattle or Silicon Valley. If they’re not competing yet, they may soon be. It’s also just as likely that they should consider partnering with or acquiring them.
Who are these companies in emerging markets? What characterises the successful ones? The PwC Top 30 Emerging Markets Software Companies answers the first question: they are regional vendors who have grown into global players over the last decade or so.